BOONEVILLE, Miss. – Anxiety often accompanies the first-time college student during the registration process, however, officials at Northeast Mississippi Community College are revamping their Orientation program to ensure the freshman class of 2013 is introduced to college in a new and “stress-free as possible” way.

Designed not only to help a student get a desirable class schedule, but also to help him or her adjust to college life, Northeast’s Orientation is available on two separate days. On June 6 or 18, participants will start their day in Bonner Arnold Coliseum at approximately 8:30 a.m. Director of Counseling, Joey Williford, says this year’s program is about more than just the 2013 fall semester.

“It all relates to, ‘Give a man a fish; he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish; he will eat for life,’ said Williford. “We are trying to take that approach with the students. We want to do more than just give a student a schedule; we want to help students learn to be successful, remain in school, and graduate with a degree.”

Students will enter into one of their two, 90-minute sessions while parents and guests remain in the Bonner Arnold Coliseum for a parental session.

During the “Advising and Technology” session, students will meet with advisors to learn how to set up their email account, gain access to email and other tools via their smart device, learn about Canvas- the online tool for each course, and learn how to set up a schedule via Tigerline- another online tool available to NEMCC students.

While the advising and technological sessions will focus on the academics, the college has not forgotten about the atmosphere that surrounds the academic environment and will cover these also critical areas with a “Student Life” session.

“Student life is all about knowing the lingo,” Williford said. “What to do; what not to do; what current and past students say they wish they had known.”

Throughout the “Student Life” session, students will learn about college activities, organizations, clubs, and how to navigate as a freshman on the NEMCC campus. “We not only want to get the students plugged into campus during orientation, we want them to stay plugged in throughout their time here at Northeast,” says Williford.

Representatives from clubs and organizations will have a presence during orientation this year as well.

What is being called “Tent City” will be set up in the courtyard of the new Student Services building, Ramsey Hall. Many clubs and organizations will be set up under tents to provide information as well as offer a variety of food and drink items. There will also be businesses from the community set up to offer information to new students to the Booneville area. Northeast hopes this will add another element of entertainment and fun to go along with the essentials of the day.

A change from past orientations will also see Northeast’s orientation days open to all majors. In previous years, specific days were designated for university parallel majors and for health science and career/technical majors.

Optional tours of the campus will start at 11:30 a.m. from the courtyard fountain and will be led by student counselors. Students will have plenty of time to accomplish their needs on campus. Students should expect to be completed no sooner than noon but are encouraged to plan to stay as late as 3 p.m. to ensure they have accomplished all that orientation is offering.

With an earlier start time and just two 90-minute sessions, Williford is encouraged by the fact that many of the working students will be out in time for lunch. “Lunch is optional this year,” Williford said. “It is available to them but not required. There will be options in the tent city area, in the cafeteria, and also out in the Booneville community.”

Williford stresses that this orientation is going to be information based and will allow for a smooth transition from high school to college. “We want students to look forward to coming to school, and the last thing we want them to do is panic during orientation,” Williford added. He also assures students that there will be plenty of time to complete everything they need on their orientation day.

Pre-registration is required to attend. The simple process of pre-registration and payment for orientation may be completed online by visiting www.nemcc.edu and clicking on the Orientation banner. There are also multiple options available for payment other than paying online. Students may bring the money to the Business Office on campus, call and pay via phone, or mail the fee to Northeast. Pre-registration for Orientation ends May 31.

“There is so much going on at Northeast. New students will be thankful they attended an orientation designed for their success.”

New students who do not take advantage of registration on one of the orientation dates will be eligible to register for fall beginning July 1.